NATIONAL NEWS TOP STORIEShttp://www.wdbj7.com/news/20128500
en-US&amp;copy; 2015 WDBJ7.comNewsNewsen-US&amp;copy; 2015 WDBJ7.comGen. Petraeus pleads guiltyhttp://www.wdbj7.com/news/politics/gen-petraeus-expected-to-plead-guilty-to-federal-charges/31583958
<p>
Gen. David Petraeus pleaded guilty Tuesday to one federal charge of removing and retaining classified information as part of a plea deal, court documents show.</p><p>
According to the documents, Petraeus admitted removing several so-called black books -- black-bound notebooks in which he kept classified and non-classified information from his tenure as the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan -- and giving them to his biographer, Paula Broadwell.</p><p>
On September 6, 2011, just days before the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States, Petraeus was sworn in as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. A little more than a year later, on November 9, 2012, he resigned from his CIA post, citing personal reasons. </p><p>
He admitted to having an affair, and the following March apologized for that during a speech at the University of Southern California.</p><p>
Petraeus allegedly provided classified intelligence to his lover, Paula Broadwell, while he was director of the CIA. The married mother of two and former military officer was writing a book about the general at the time. </p><p>
The relationship came to light during an FBI investigation into a complaint that Broadwell was allegedly sending harassing e-mails to another woman who was close to Petraeus, a U.S. official told CNN in January.</p><p>
Petraeus now works for New York private equity firm KKR & Co. </p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:14:01 GMT315839582015-03-03T20:14:01ZClinton's use of personal email raises questionshttp://www.wdbj7.com/news/politics/clinton-no-official-email-address-at-state/31577768
<p>
Hillary Clinton did not have a State Department email account while she served as America's top diplomat, a senior state department official said, and instead used a personal email account during her four years on the job.</p><p>
The New York Times first reported Clinton's exclusive use of a personal email account on Monday night.</p><p>
Using personal email as a sole method of communication appears to break rules outlined by the National Archives and Records Administration. The government agency stipulates that personal email can only be used in "emergency situations," and when used, the emails "are captured and managed in accordance with agency record-keeping practices."</p><p>
According to the Times report, Clinton's "aides took no actions to have her personal emails preserved on department servers at the time."</p><p>
Nick Merrill, Clinton's spokesman, told CNN on Tuesday morning that, "like Secretaries of State before her, she used her own email account when engaging with any Department officials."</p><p>
"For government business, she emailed them on their Department accounts, with every expectation they would be retained," he said in an emailed statement. "When the Department asked former Secretaries last year for help ensuring their emails were in fact retained, we immediately said yes."</p><p>
Despite Clinton using a personal email address, all of her emails to official government accounts would be archived as received mail by the people on the other end of the email. Her communication with people not using government emails, however, would likely not be automatically kept.</p><p>
But Merrill says her records were kept and turned over to State. "Both the letter and spirit of the rules permitted State Department officials to use non-government email, as long as appropriate records were preserved," Merrill concluded.</p><p>
On Tuesday, Marie Harf, a deputy State Department spokeswoman, that the department has "no indication that Secretary Clinton used her personal email account for anything but unclassified purposes."</p><p>
"While Secretary Clinton did not have a classified email system, she did have multiple other ways of communicating in a classified manner, including assistants printing documents for her, secure phone calls, and secure video conferences," Harf added.</p><p>
Democrats have also tried to defend Clinton, nothing that other top government officials have used personal emails in the past. A senior state department official noted on Monday that previous secretaries of state had used personal emails to communicate with staff, including Secretary Colin Powell.</p><p>
"As a result, our policies are continuing to evolve, including how those policies pertain to leadership officials," the official said. "And we all know that implementing changes in the federal government can be an onerous process."</p><p>
The National Archives and Records Administration outlined new rules for federal agencies in 2013 that "reaffirm that agencies and agency employees must manage federal records appropriately and protect them from unauthorized removal from agency custody." </p><p>
This bulletin stipulated that email messages are federal record.</p><p>
Clinton's emails have been at the center of debate around the House's select committee investigating the Benghazi attack that resulted in four dead Americans. Republicans have demanded the State Department hand over emails from Clinton and other top officials. The committee has received some of those emails, but the State Department is still processing the request.</p><p>
Clinton agreed to testify to the committee late in 2014, according to Democrats on the panel, but Rep. Trey Gowdy, the committee chairman, has said he would wait to call her until all the emails are received.</p><p>
Jen Psaki, a state department spokeswoman, said in a statement on Monday that ever since the select committee asked for emails, "the State Department has been proactively and consistently engaged in responding to the Committee's many requests," including "providing more than 40,000 pages of documents."</p><p>
Last year, Psaki said, the department asked former secretaries to "submit any records in their possession for proper preservation," including personal emails used while leader the State Department. </p><p>
"In response to our request, Secretary Clinton provided the department with emails spanning her time at the department," Psaki said. "After the State Department reviewed those emails, we produced about 300 emails responsive to recent requests from the Select Committee.</p><p>
The Times also reported that Clinton's personal email account was discovered by Gowdy's House committee when State -- through Clinton -- provided those emails to the committee.</p><p>
However, Gawker reported in 2013, based on emails obtained by a Romanian hacker named "Guccifer," that Clinton was using a "clintonemail.com" domain name in emails to advisers and friends.</p><p>
Republicans have already seized on The New York Times report. </p><p>
"This latest development raises serious questions," said Michael Short, Republican National Committee spokesman, in a press release, adding it "begs the question: what was Hillary Clinton trying to hide?"</p><p>
Potential rival Jeb Bush, who recently released thousands of emails from his time as Florida governor, also used the revelation as an opportunity to draw a contrast.</p><p>
"Hillary Clinton should release her emails. Hopefully she hasn't already destroyed them," said Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell in an email to CNN. "Gov. Bush believes transparency is a critical part of public service and of governing. That's why he recently launched www.jebemails.com."</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:04:19 GMT315777682015-03-03T20:04:19ZReport finds systematic discrimination in Fergusonhttp://www.wdbj7.com/news/politics/report-finds-discrimination-in-ferguson/31588144
<p>
A Justice Department civil rights investigation has concluded that the Ferguson Police Department and the city's municipal court engaged in a "pattern and practice" of discrimination against African-Americans, targeting them disproportionately for traffic stops, use of force, and jail sentences, according to a U.S. law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. </p><p>
The probe is the result of an investigation ordered by Attorney General Eric Holder after the police shooting that killed Michael Brown last summer. </p><p>
Among the findings, reviewed by CNN: from 2012 to 2014, 85% of people subject to vehicle stops by Ferguson police were African American; 90% of those who received citations were black; and 93% of people arrested were black. This while 67% of the Ferguson population is black. </p><p>
In 88% of the cases in which police the Ferguson police reported using force, it was against African Americans. During the period 2012-2014 black drivers were twice as likely as white drivers to be searched during traffic stops, but 26% less likely to be found in possession of contraband. </p><p>
Blacks were disproportionately more likely to be cited for minor infractions: 95% of tickets for "manner of walking in roadway," essentially jaywalking, were against African Americans. Also, 94% of all "failure to comply" charges were filed against black people. </p><p>
The findings in the investigation are expected to be made public as soon as Wednesday, and the Justice Department is expected to pursue a court-supervised consent decree that requires the city of Ferguson to make changes to its police and courts. </p><p>
According to the findings, reviewed by CNN, African Americans were 68% less likely to have their cases dismissed by a Ferguson municipal judge, and were overwhelmingly more likely to be arrested during traffic stops solely for an outstanding warrant by the Ferguson courts. </p><p>
The investigators found evidence of racist jokes being sent around by Ferguson police and court officials. One November 2008 email read in part that President Barack Obama wouldn't likely be President for long because "what black man holds a steady job for four years."</p><p>
Another jokes that made the rounds on Ferguson government email in May 2011 said: "An African American woman in New Orleans was admitted into the hospital for a pregnancy termination. Two weeks later she received a check for $3000. She phoned the hospital to ask who it was from. The hospital said: 'Crimestoppers.'"</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:18:15 GMT315881442015-03-03T20:18:15ZJury selected in Tsarnaev bombing trialhttp://www.wdbj7.com/news/nation/jury-selected-in-tsarnaev-bombing-trial/31587674
<p>
The jury that will decide whether to convict Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev includes a house painter eager to "serve my country," a man in his 20s who is Baha'i and speaks Farsi, and a water department employee who said he thinks the death penalty would be "the easy way out." </p><p>
The federal jury represents a cross-section of Boston's professionals and working class -- a fashion designer, a bookstore employee, an engineer, an air traffic controller, a restaurant manager.</p><p>
Jury selection was finalized Tuesday and opening statements begin Wednesday.</p><p>
The jury is made up of eight men and 10 women, many of whom said they believed Tsarnaev was involved in the 2013 bombings that killed three people and left at least 264 injured. </p><p>
The 18-member jury -- 12 primary jurors and six alternates -- will determine whether Tsarnaev is guilty of participating in the bombing, and they could be asked to impose the death penalty if they decide he is.</p><p>
Tsarnaev is charged with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death.</p><p>
Prosecutors accuse Tsarnaev of working with his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, to set off two bombs made from pressure cookers near the marathon's crowded finish line.</p><p>
The bombs, packed with BB-like pellets and nails, exploded 12 seconds apart, spraying the crowd with shrapnel. The victims included an 8-year-old boy, a 29-year-old woman and a graduate student from China.</p><p>
Three days later, authorities say, the brothers killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer, then led police on a wild chase in which they threw explosives out the car windows and exchanged gunfire with police.</p><p>
Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in the mayhem that night. He had been shot, suffered injuries from an explosion and had been run over by his fleeing brother, according to authorities.</p><p>
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found the next day, hiding in a boat in the backyard of a home in Watertown, Massachusetts.</p><p>
Although Massachusetts hasn't had a death penalty on its books in three decades, and the state hasn't executed anyone since 1947, the death penalty is an option because the case is being tried in federal court -- where the death penalty remains an option for some crimes, including terror-related offenses.</p><p>
Many of the jurors who made the final cut seemed willing to consider the death penalty. </p><p>
One juror, a restaurant manager, said she would have no problem choosing the death penalty if the evidence was there. "I don't feel like I'm sending someone to death or life in prison," she said. "Their actions got them there. I'm following the law."</p><p>
Another woman, an executive assistant at a law firm, said initially that she wasn't sure she could vote for the death penalty. But under questioning, she reconsidered, saying, "If I came to that decision based on the evidence I heard, then yes." </p><p>
The trial is expected to last into June.</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:59:49 GMT315876742015-03-03T19:59:49ZMcCarthy: Clean DHS bill vote Tuesdayhttp://www.wdbj7.com/news/politics/boehner-to-allow-vote-on-clean-dhs-bill/31574510
<p>
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters that a vote on a clean bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security will happen Tuesday. </p><p>
A clean bill to fully fund the Department through the end of the fiscal year is what Democrats have been demanding, and conservatives have been fighting against.</p><p>
According to multiple GOP members and aides, House Speaker John Boehner announced to members at the top of House GOP conference meeting that he was out of options, and the Senate couldn't pass their bill.</p><p>
He asked if anyone had any questions and not one member stood up or complained.</p><p>
Asked why GOP leaders are now doing an about face and allowing a vote on a clean bill, McCarthy said, "Apparently the Senate is not able to do it so what direction do we have?"</p><p>
McCarthy pointed to the recent ruling by a Texas court suspending the Administration's program and said "at that point we are winning our argument and we'll continue that."</p><p>
A senior GOP aide says they are waiting for the papers from the Senate and expects the process could start this afternoon.</p><p>
GOP Rep. Scott Garrett, a staunch conservative and a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, which led the charge against a clean DHS bill, said that leadership aides told him that a clean DHS bill would come to the floor soon. While he said he would vote no he said that he expected the measure to pass because Democrats would join with the group of House Republicans who have been urging a vote on a clean bill to approve the measure.</p><p>
The plan is for a Republican member to bring up the Senate bill as a "privileged resolution," which would mean it would get relatively quick vote on the House floor. Sources say leaders are still working out the timing, and who would offer the resolution to begin the process.</p><p>
Although under House rules a Democrat could try to force this vote, these sources say it will be a House Republican who will move to proceed with the vote on the funding bill.</p><p>
Conservatives have been demanding a conference committee with the House and Senate to work out the differences on the DHS spending bill. But on Monday, as expected, Senate Democrats voted to block any effort to set up a conference committee.</p><p>
Boehner's spokesman Michael Steel declined to address the next steps. </p><p>
"We are disappointed that Senate Democrats have once again rejected regular order," he said. "Now, we will talk with House Republican members about the way forward."</p><p>
And Boehner, who is usually getting attacked from conservative groups on such matters, will now get some help from an outside GOP group. The American Action Network is rolling out $400,000 worth of television and radio ads targeting many of the House conservatives who voted against a short-term funding bill to fund DHS, warning them against risking American security.</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 18:36:54 GMT315745102015-03-03T18:36:54ZLawyer: Snowden ready to return to United Stateshttp://www.wdbj7.com/news/politics/lawyer-snowden-ready-to-return-to-united-states/31586342
<p>
Edward Snowden's lawyer says he is ready to come home to the United States. </p><p>
The former National Security Agency contractor's Russian lawyer said he's ready to leave the country that offered him political asylum in 2013 and return to the United States as long as he gets a fair trial. </p><p>
"He is thinking about it. He has a desire to return and we are doing everything we can to make it happen," said Anatoly Kucherena, Snowden's lawyer, Agence-France Presse reported Tuesday. </p><p>
Snowden has remained in Russia since he leaked thousands of classified documents to media outlets that he obtained while working for the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. </p><p>
Kucherena said Snowden has so far received a guarantee from Attorney General Eric Holder that he will not face the death penalty -- but that Snowden also wants a guarantee of a "legal and impartial trial." </p><p>
Such a trial, Snowden's legal advisers have said, would mean he wouldn't face charges under the Espionage Act, a World War I-era law that was used to charge Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. </p><p>
Snowden's lawyer said he's allowed to travel outside Russia now under a three-year Russian residency permit, but that he believes Snowden would be taken immediately to a U.S. embassy as soon as he leaves the country. </p><p>
"With a group of lawyers from other countries, we are working on the question of his return to America," Kucherena said.</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 18:05:28 GMT315863422015-03-03T18:05:28Z58 members of Congress skip Netanyahu speechhttp://www.wdbj7.com/news/politics/36-democrats-skipping-netanyahus-speech/31570646
<p>
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday further strained an already tense relationship with President Barack Obama.</p><p>
And a number of top Democrats ---&#160;including Vice President Joe Biden, whose job description includes the title President of the Senate ---&#160;didn't attend.</p><p>
Netanyahu used the Tuesday speech to frame Iran as a major terrorist threat to the U.S and Israel, framing it in the same vein as ISIS and North Korea. And he argued that the deal currently in the works to prevent the nation from gaining nuclear weapons would in fact "guarantee" that it secures them --- "lots of them." </p><p>
The expected substance of the speech, coupled with the fact that the White House was not alerted to the invite ahead of time, had drawn sharp criticism from the administration, and Democrats crying foul. National Security Adviser Susan Rice last week said Netanyahu's decision to speak was "destructive to the fabric of the relationship" between Israel and the U.S.</p><p>
At least 50 Democratic House members and eight senators who caucus with the Democrats said in recent weeks they wouldn't attend the speech, many in protest to a move that they say is an affront to the president. </p><p>
Rep. Charles Rangel (N.Y.) had originally said he would skip the meeting, but changed his mind on Tuesday. </p><p>
A full list of the Democrats who confirmed they missed the speech follows:</p><p>
SENATE - 8 members</p><p>
Sen. Al Franken (Minn.)</p><p>
Sen. Martin Heinrich (N.M.)</p><p>
Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.)</p><p>
Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.)</p><p>
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)</p><p>
Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii)</p><p>
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.)</p><p>
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.)</p><p>
HOUSE - 50 members</p><p>
Rep. Karen Bass (Calif.)</p><p>
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.)</p><p>
Rep. Corrine Brown (Fla.)</p><p>
Rep. G.K. Butterfield (N.C.)</p><p>
Rep. Lois Capps (Calif.)</p><p>
Rep. Andre Carson (Ind.)</p><p>
Rep. Joaquin Castro (Texas)</p><p>
Rep. Katherine Clark (Mass.)</p><p>
Rep. William Lacy Clay (Mo.)</p><p>
Rep. James Clyburn (S.C.)</p><p>
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.) </p><p>
Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.)</p><p>
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (N.J.)</p><p>
Rep. John Conyers (Mich.) </p><p>
Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.)</p><p>
Rep. Danny Davis (Ill.)</p><p>
Rep. Peter DeFazio (Ore.) </p><p>
Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.) </p><p>
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (Texas)</p><p>
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.)</p><p>
Rep. Donna Edwards (Md.)</p><p>
Rep. Chaka Fattah (Pa.)</p><p>
Rep. Keith Ellison (Minn.)</p><p>
Rep. Marcia Fudge (Ohio)</p><p>
Rep. Ra&#250;l Grijalva (Ariz.)</p><p>
Rep. Luis Guti&#233;rrez (Ill.)</p><p>
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.) </p><p>
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas)</p><p>
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (Ohio)</p><p>
Rep. Rick Larsen (Wash.) </p><p>
Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.)</p><p>
Rep. John Lewis (Ga.)</p><p>
Rep. Dave Loebsack (Iowa)</p><p>
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (Calif.)</p><p>
Rep. Betty McCollum (Minn.)</p><p>
Rep. Jim McDermott (Wash.)</p><p>
Rep. Jim McGovern (Mass.)</p><p>
Rep. Jerry McNerney (Calif.)</p><p>
Rep. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.)</p><p>
Rep. Gwen Moore (Wis.)</p><p>
Rep. Beto O'Rourke (Texas)</p><p>
Rep. Donald Payne (N.J.)</p><p>
Rep. Chellie Pingree (Maine)</p><p>
Rep. David Price (N.C.)</p><p>
Rep. Cedric Richmond (La.)</p><p>
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.)</p><p>
Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.)</p><p>
Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.)</p><p>
Rep. Mike Thompson (Calif.)</p><p>
Rep. John Yarmuth (Ky.)</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 17:19:20 GMT315706462015-03-03T17:19:20ZOne of FBI's most wanted terrorists capturedhttp://www.wdbj7.com/news/nation/one-of-fbis-most-wanted-terrorists-captured/31584598
<p>
A Somali-American on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list has been captured, Somali intelligence officials said Tuesday. </p><p>
Liban Haji Mohamed was arrested as he traveled from an area controlled by terror group Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia. </p><p>
The one-time cabdriver in northern Virginia is being held and interrogated by Somali officials. </p><p>
Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency did not say when Mohamed was captured but said the suspect had been under surveillance for several days. </p><p>
Mohamed was born in Somalia but is a naturalized U.S. citizen. </p><p>
The 29-year-old left the United States in July 2012 to join al Qaeda in Somalia, according to CNN affiliate WTKR-TV, citing the FBI. </p><p>
Mohamed is wanted by the FBI for allegedly providing material support to terrorists, but his extradition is not assured, as the United States and Somalia do not have an extradition treaty in place.</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 16:52:05 GMT315845982015-03-03T16:52:05ZMan blames exploding iPhone for leg burnshttp://www.wdbj7.com/news/nation/man-blames-exploding-iphone-for-leg-burns/31575568
<p>
A New York man says his smart phone blew up in his pocket and he wound up in a hospital.</p><p>
Erik Johnson of Lindenhurst says his iPhone 5C spontaneously erupted in extreme heat while it was in his pants pocket, giving him second- and third-degree burnson his leg the size of a football.</p><p>
He was headed to a wake for his cousin in New Jersey on February 14, Johnson said, and he dropped his car keys.</p><p>
"When I went to bend over, I heard a pop," he told CNN. "I heard a sizzling, and I ended up ripping my pants off to stop it from burning me."</p><p>
Johnson said he didn't know what was causing the pain at first and there was no warning -- just an extreme burn and a lot of pain. In a panic, he quickly started ripping at his pants as the phone began to melt the edges of his pocket shut, he said.</p><p>
"I was trying to get it out of my pocket," he said. "It started burning right through my pants. It was burning my leg, and I had to get my pants off somehow."</p><p>
Johnson's brother, who was with him at the time, decided driving him to the hospital would be faster than dialing 911, Johnson said.</p><p>
They drove to the Bayonne Medical Center in New Jersey. After being evaluated in the emergency room, Johnson was taken by ambulance to the Burn Center at Staten Island University Hospital. The burn center confirmed to CNN that he spent 10 days there receiving treatment.</p><p>
"I still can't believe it," Johnson said. "I've never dealt with anything like this before."</p><p>
He works as an operating engineer in New York City, maintaining escalators, cranes and forklifts. </p><p>
He said now he is at home with family in Lindenhurst, and a nurse comes in every day to change his bandage.</p><p>
In the meantime, he said, he hasn't even thought about buying a new phone. </p><p>
Mike Della, a personal injury lawyer on Long Island who is representing Johnson, says despite two phone calls and a letter, Apple had not yet responded to his queries about why his client's phone suddenly exploded in heat.</p><p>
CNN reached out to Apple, and the company stated that it is looking into the incident.</p><p>
Johnson purchased the phone last year and had not been using a battery case or third-party charger, Della said.</p><p>
"First and foremost, we have to find out how this happened and prevent it from happening ever again," Della told CNN. "That's the whole goal here. Is the product safe?"</p><p>
Della said because of this case, he now is quick to take extra precautions with his phone.</p><p>
"Now, every single time I have my iPhone, instead of putting it in my pocket, I put it in the seat next to me because of this case," he said. "My wife does the same thing, and so does everyone else at the (law) firm. It's a little scary."</p><p>
"You shouldn't have to worry about your phone exploding," he said. </p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 16:25:24 GMT315755682015-03-03T16:25:24Z12 states that still ban same-sex marriagehttp://www.wdbj7.com/news/nation/12-states-that-still-ban-samesex-marriage/31579112
<p>
What a difference a couple of years makes.</p><p>
A federal judge has struck down Nebraska's ban on same-sex marriage, calling it an "unabashedly gender-specific infringement of the equal rights of its citizens."</p><p>
U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon's decision Monday means that same-sex marriage is now against the law in fewer than one in four states. </p><p>
Nebraska state officials immediately appealed the ruling to the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.</p><p>
Bataillon denied a state request to stay his decision. And so, beginning Monday, the state must "treat same-sex couples the same as different sex couples" when it comes to marriage rights, the federal injunction reads.</p><p>
As the dominoes fall in favor of same-sex marriages, the question now seems to be which state will be the last?</p><p>
The number of states offering same-sex marriages has surged since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in 2013 that invalidated part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.</p><p>
States like Illinois, Hawaii, Minnesota and New York joined the fold voluntarily, while others -- most recently Nebraska and Alabama -- were ordered by state or federal judges to offer and recognize the unions.</p><p>
The case involving Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee is expected to be decided sometime in June by the U.S. Supreme Court. </p><p>
Here's the situation in the 12 states that currently ban same-sex marriages:</p><p>
Arkansas</p><p>
The state's constitutional ban on gay marriage, passed in 2004, was struck down twice last year -- once by a state court judge and again by a U.S. District Court judge. Local officials issued some 400 marriage licenses following the state court decision, but the state Supreme Court blocked the issuance of more licenses pending its review of the case. A decision could come soon.</p><p>
Georgia</p><p>
Georgia is one of just two states with no legislative action or pending legal decisions whatsoever on same-sex marriage. The other is North Dakota. However, lawsuits are pending to overturn the state's 2004 ban.</p><p>
Louisiana</p><p>
The state's ban is being challenged in state court, where a judge last year ruled the law is unconstitutional, and in federal court, where a U.S. District Court judge took the rare step, for a federal judge, of backing such a ban. The ban remains in place pending Louisiana's appeal of the state court ruling. On the federal level, a ruling is pending out of the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which heard arguments in the case in January.</p><p>
Kentucky</p><p>
Last year, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that the state's constitutional amendment banning gay marriages had no "legitimate purpose." The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit later overturned the ruling, reinstating gay marriage bans in Kentucky and four other states. The Kentucky ban is part of the U.S. Supreme Court case scheduled for arguments in April and a decision by June.</p><p>
Michigan</p><p>
A U.S. District Court judge ruled last year that the state's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional, resulting in the issuance of more than 300 marriage licenses. That ended when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted a stay. The court later reinstated Michigan's ban in the same ruling that reinstated Kentucky's ban. Its fate will be decided by the Supreme Court decision due by June.</p><p>
Missouri</p><p>
A state court judge ruled in November that Missouri's 2004 constitutional ban on gay marriage was illegal. Attorney General Chris Koster appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court. But that court has indicated that it will not rule on the case until after the U.S. Supreme Court decision. Just a few days after that state court ruling, a U.S. District Court judge struck down the state's marriage ban, but that decision has been stayed pending appeals. While the state ban is in effect, officials in the St. Louis area have issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples.</p><p>
Mississippi </p><p>
A U.S. District Court judge granted an injunction last year against the state's same-sex marriage ban, describing it as unconstitutional. The judge, however, postponed his ruling from going into effect to give the state time to appeal. A federal appeals court heard arguments in the case in January. In the meantime, the same-sex marriage ban is still in effect.</p><p>
North Dakota</p><p>
Same-sex couples are challenging the state's ban in U.S. District Court, but a federal judge issued a ruling on January 20 delaying the proceedings until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules.</p><p>
South Dakota</p><p>
The U.S. District Court struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban in January, but blocked enforcement pending an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.</p><p>
Texas</p><p>
The state's ban was struck down in January 2014 by a federal judge who said it serves "no legitimate governmental purpose." But, as in many other states, enforcement was delayed pending appeals. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard the case last month and a ruling is pending.</p><p>
Ohio</p><p>
A federal appeals court judge upheld a ban last year on same-sex marriages in the state. That decision is part of the U.S. Supreme Court case expected to be finalized this summer.</p><p>
Tennessee</p><p>
In November 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the state's ban. That decision also will be part of the U.S. Supreme Court case.</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 14:59:31 GMT315791122015-03-03T14:59:31Z